Because my wife works for a gov agency that deals with critters, I hear about them often.
My two favorites were the cougar in the woods between Bloomingdale and Roselle and the Elk in Wheaton.
For the cougar, they sent up a thermal imaging camera.
I personally saw the high res images, very interesting.
There had been lo res images from local news on the net.
The wildlife biologists could not say for certain.
We have kin that live next to that woods, they have NO DOUBTS ABOUT IT!
The elk was verified as an elk (not a deer)by a biologist and reported by many.
The first thing is to call anybody around with an elk to go count them. Like the herd in Busse Woods. All present and accounted for.
They said, the critters follow the railroad tracks and sometimes keep going.
Used to commute through Wheaton going to work on my bicycle and car for many years, the bike is very quiet.
I liked going in early, relax and have breakfast with my crew.. read the paper...passing through Wheaton 5- 5:30 AM.
Started seeing coyotes about 15 years back(?), more each year. Now a comm, almost daily sight, especially on the bike.
They stroll down the sidewalks casually like they own the place!
Had two coyotes run right past us one night.
The two Austrailian Shepherds (45&52 lbs) wanted to take off and run with them, but they were on a leash.
Coyotes are incredibly FAST, at 30 MPH on the bike, it feels like I have stopped, as they run off!!!
Our veterinarian lives next to a forest preserve and walks his every night in the woods. Says no worry for a dog that size.
https://patch.com/illinois/elmhurst/possible-cougar-sighting-forest-preserve-under-investigation
Carry a camera at ready.
“My two favorites were the cougar in the woods between Bloomingdale and Roselle.”
Meacham Grove. We walk that one pretty often. Doesn’t surprise me a bit. I once saw two Bloomingdale police officers trying to herd a flock of wild turkeys back into that place because they were blocking Circle Ave one afternoon.
I stopped to explain that it’s not really possible to herd turkeys. I even volunteered to dash home, grab my turkey gun, and take care of the problem. They declined my offer.
So there’s plenty of food for a large cat there, and a couple of solid water sources as well. I have no doubt at least one breeding pair has taken up residence.
Best,
L